I sat there, holding on tightly to my Brian, wishing upon all the yarn and bits of fabric that flew across my vision that he was coming with me. But he wasn't. He was working. And I was nervous. As I gripped him with a tenacity that might make a squid proud, Cler, my friend, turned to me as she stuffed large bolts of fabric into a trunk and said, "Did you happen to bring food gear?" Um. Yeah. I was beginning to feel under-prepared.
Let me back up so you can be aware of the situation.
My friend from a gaming group of nerdiness, Cler, (pronounced Claire, for those of us who aren't geologists with an affinity of snappy names) had been sitting in front of her computer, showing me pictures from her latest digs (did I mention she's a geologist) and SCA events. Intrigued, as pictures of people wearing what I perceived were renaissance clothing, (by the way, that's....probably the vaguest term one could ever use, and most people get annoyed when you say that) (and by most people, I mean the die-hardiests) (and by that, I mean, of the SCA) (Yeah) I flipped through some interesting photos, and happened to see her 6 month calendar taped up on her wall. I, innocently, said, "Baron's Ball?" (It was soooo tempting to make the latter word plural, for hijinks and unwholesome snickering, and believe me, the restraint was forceable, but I was proud)
This prompted my motherly, knowledgable, enthusiastic Cler to advise me of the SCA's events, and in a breathless twist of events, invited me to go with her, and her good friend Vicky. (Who is also a geologist, and fond of rum) And of course, me being the terrific romantic that I am, I was thinking of women in corsets, wearing beautiful silk dresses, their hair long, luxurious, like spun gold, and handsome men winning tournaments in their honor. And of course, in my Harlequinn mooning, I immediately agreed. How bad would it be to dress all prettily and flounce about tossing handkerchiefs at men wearing armor?
So there I was, with my overnight bag, my pillows, my mummy bag, a fully charged Kindle and iPhone, (duh) and a generous allowance for food, gas, and maybe some souvenirs, and already pining for my Brian when we hit the road. I was with Cler, Vicky had to take a seperate vehicle. (Someone had to be responsible for the tents) In the car, on the way, Cler took it upon herself, and upon myself, to teach me the mysterious ways of the SCA.
I should pause here, and insert a personal observation about Cler-when she rambles on and on about the interworkings of Court, Retinues, Sergeantry, and Spinning, she gets so caught up in the explanation that she doesn't realize I am, in fact, a noob. Therefore, I must be consistent with my requests for her to back up, and explain this and that, and she will. Pause end.
We arrived much later than usual, and the first thing I saw was, as Cler called it, a gate. A very thin man with extremely poofy hair stepped out of his authentic tent, and peered at us. And then came right to my window. He smiled at me, but in the dark, he might have been passing gas-I try not to judge, either way. He advised us the "Gate" (which, for all you non-knowers, is where the "Toll" to be at the event is paid) was actually in the center for the night, and would be migrated the next day. I looked off into the distance, and saw men fighting around a campfire, an artificial castle, (hand painted, turns out...I want someone to paint my room like that) and several older women huddled around lanters and papers. Now I'm gonna make an observation here, and I shall make it well: The women of An Tir (my kingdom...and yes, you're *probably* in a kingdom too-and we say we don't believe in secret organizations...pshaw) are well-endowed. In all aspects. As in....pleasantly plump...or, if you wanna go old school, peasantly plump...amiright? (AM I RIGHT?) But they are the HAPPY sort. You know, the type that has crows feet at age 19 because of such permanent smiles? Them. They have the type of attractiveness that's hard to beat: personality hotness. There were some babes there too. Anyways.
We paid, we set up our tent, (I held a lantern out for that entire ordeal, and watched the more qualified set up a huge tent, (for Cler and Vicky) and a tiny tent, (for me) and a pavilion, (where we might retire during the day) and then I went into my tent...and screamed. I should tell you I didn't quite think this through. I forgot that camping included bugs. I forgot bugs included spiders. I was swiftly reminded when one floated down in front of my nose, a huge one hung out a few feet away, and a green one was debating whether to hide in a window or in my bed roll. Being the big baby I am, Cler had to come in and slay them, and remove their revolting carcasses. I didn't sleep well that night.
Imagine my surprise to find several of those on EVERYTHING. After I spotted this one, I flicked it across the top of the tent while I contemplated the days activities. I'll admit-I was excited about wearing the garb.
After I was dressed, I met quite possibly the most fascinating, engaging 13-year old on the planet. She was spirited, straight-forward, and had the exact same sense of humor as me. Granted, I have the mentality of a 13 year old anyways, but handicaps aside.
Plus, she had the coolest name ever:
Firen.
Turns out, she is the daughter of the Baron and Baroness of the Tri-Cities area! She's pretty awesome.
So there's a ton more to say, but I think it's best to do this in installments. But I'll give you a sneak peek of next posty goodness:
And much more. Until then. Also-I am aware of the side plaques and users being not so much on the showing side. Aware, and being coded. Gimme some time peeps.
